This invention relates generally to systems for monitoring and indicating the state of each of a plurality of remotely located parameters in a complex apparatus, in particular, to monitoring and indicating the status of the vital parameters in an automotive vehicle.
Many systems are available which advise or warm the operator as to important vehicle functions. Automobiles are commonly equipped with gauges indicating vehicle speed and gasoline supply. Some vehicles are provided with gauges for oil pressure, engine temperature, and battery charging whereas other vehicles have indicators which light after a problem in one of these areas is sensed. A gauge system yields more information to the operator as a quantitative measurement is always available. However, in his preoccupation with driving the automobile, an operator may overlook or misinterpret an excessive gauge reading. While the indicator light system is calculated to catch the operator's immediate attention, the operator is denied a quantitative evaluation.
Furthermore, as automotive vehicles become increasingly more sophisticated, countless additional parameters will require surveillance. The resulting indicating systems must provide accurate and complete information to the operator without unnecessary distraction or confusion.
One approach to a multiple parameter sensing and indicating system is the U.S. Pat. No. 3,582,949 to Forst. There various parameters are prioritized and continuously sampled, the highest ranking out of limit parameter causing an indication. The drawback to Forst's system is that a continuously monitoring system requires costly duplication of circuitry.
Finally, as such systems are mass produced, it is important that the cost be kept to a minimum.